Mega eye camp restores sight to over 1,000 people in Nepal

The Fred Hollows Foundation has restored sight to a near record number of patients during a mega eye camp in remote Nepal. Working with its partner in Nepal, Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, over 1000 patients had their sight restored in just five days.

The outreach micro-surgical eye camp took place in the Bardiya district which is located in the far west of Nepal, near the border with India. A total of 14 screening camps were held in the region prior to the camp with approximately 2800 patients being checked for conditions such as cataract, which can account for up to 70% of avoidable blindness in Nepal.

“This is an extraordinary result for The Fred Hollows Foundation and Tilganga,” says Gabi Hollows.

In total 1098 patients received sight restoring cataract surgery, making the camp one of the largest ever conducted through Tilganga in terms of patient numbers. Dr Govinda Paudyal, a Nepali surgeon supported by The Foundation, himself performed 175 sight restoring surgeries in one single day.

“Fred would be amazed that the work that he started with people like Dr Sanduk Ruit in Nepal all those years ago is reaching such a large amount of people, who would otherwise receive no treatment and would remain blind.”

“It reinforces that so much can be done to help those in need with such a small amount of money and we always have to thank our supporters in Australia for helping us achieve these results.”

The Fred Hollows Foundation remain close partners of Tilganga and continues to provide funding for activities, particularly for initiatives aimed at increasing the accessibility of eye care services to poor and remote communities in Nepal.

Led by Medical Director, Dr Sanduk Ruit, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology comprises of a surgical centre, an outreach department, the Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens Laboratory, an Eye Bank for the storage of donated corneas - as well as training and research departments.